[TECHY] My PC has blown up.

[Purple Tentacle]

So I'm sitting at my computer, pootling away liquifying tits onto my body... when FOOM.

Power gone.


Ah, power cut I think... except it won't turn back on.


I've waggled the PSU cables inside, checked the connection from PSU to motherboard, and motherboard to power switch... nothing. Oh, and swapped plug cables over to check it's not a plug fuse.

I've deduced that one of three things has happened.

1) My PSU has spontaneously died.  It didn't seem to be ill before, just operating full power one second, a dodo the next.

2) My power switch has died. New case needed.

3) My motherboard is somehow fried, and the connection between the PSU and the power switch is severed.  Somebody PLEASE tell me this is unlikely, I can't afford to buy a new one.



So..... a few questions:   Does anybody think it can be anything else, or is it just a dead PSU? Like I say, it just died all of a sudden.

It's a 300W PSU (AMD1.4ghz processor/mboard).. will installing a 250W PSU to test the connections work, and will buying a 400W PSU fry everything?


Any advice would be enormously appreciated.  My current plan of action is to buy a new pigging case by the way, to cover problems 1 & 2... but how likely is 3?

(I am typing this on my girlfriend's powerbook by the way.)

[gazzyk1ns]

If it is #3 then it's not a disaster, you can get a new mobo for about £50... possibly cheaper if you eBay it up.

Assuming you don't overclock your CPU and/or RAM then I would assume it's the PSU, though that is a highly amateur opinion. Also, in my experience of PSU problems... there's probably an underlying cause, i.e. poor mobo/too many connected devices/incorrectly configured device(s).

[New World Order]

That sounds like what happend when my motherboard kicked the bucket.

Sounds like number 3 to me. : (  Sorry like.

Its not as bad as it sounds, find someone with small hands.

[5 Knuckle Shuffle]

Sounds very similar to what happened to mine last year. I went out for a jog, left my PC on and when i got back, my PC was completely dead. Nothing at all. I replaced the PSU with a 2nd hand one from a friend, and hey presto, it worked. In fact, it's the same PSU that is still working in my system still now. Oh, and it's a 240watt PSU and I have a 1800+ AMD with loads of gubbins working on it, so you should be alright testing it out with that one you mentioned.

[Cerys]

So I'm sitting at my computer, pootling away liquifying tits onto my body....

And you wonder why your machine exploded...?

[Rev]

The exact same thing happened to me, and it was a dead PSU that had given up without the slightest of warnings.  It may well be #3, but as you can pick up a PSU for under a tenner and they're a piece of piss to replace, you might want to give that a whirl first.

[untitled_london]

i'd say PSU

you can get a relatively decent & cheap PSU "from PC world etc - it'll be cheaper still if you can do the shopping around etc, but since you have no 'puter than might be a bit hard.

hey - how come you're posting????? neato trick

:O


errm, yeah, but do double check  your setup, (its a good time - you may as well have a good old pokey around in there - get to know it better) you may have knocked something wonky, if not - have you added anything to the box lately - i.e. within the past few weeks -  its quite common for these things to take some time to burn out... you add a spanking new CD drive, then a 64 bit PCI card, then some top shelf RAM but all the while the PSU fans are dirty - the stress have been draining it & finally the last straw and poof - no more liquified bjoobies for you.

i say PSU as mobos will tend to give a few warnings ... first with post errors beeps etc, processor not found - serious sounding stuff then you smell something funny (kinda like batteries burning - transitors popping etc) and then poof no more liquified bjoobies for you.

[MojoJojo]

You can easily check if its the button on the case, just follow the wires to the motherboard and make the connection with something else to see if it starts up.

Sounds like the PSU  has gone though... unfortunately in my experience this can screw up the motherboard too.

[ClaudiusMaximus]

My PSU died a couple of weeks back - computer suddenly died, fouls smelling smoke coming out the back of the case.  I think I killed it by adding an extra hard drive, it was only 135W.  New beefy 350W PSU from the local computer shop got me up and running the next day with seemingly no other damage.  The new PSU's fans are quite a bit noisier though.

[Still Not George]

It's a 300W PSU (AMD1.4ghz processor/mboard).. will installing a 250W PSU to test the connections work, and will buying a 400W PSU fry everything?

No, the wattage is an expression of the amount of juice it's capable of kicking out, not a discrete value. 400W should be fine for anything apart from a new Ninj-O-System Of Doom.

From experience this has a 3 in 4 chance of being a PSU problem, those buggers are notoriously unreliable, especially cheapass unbranded ones. Commiserations if it's your mobo.

This is all making me miss my scratch-built testing desk back at my old work... I love it when workplaces let you set up your own testing rigs. Hope pooter gets better so you can carry on kicking my fiancee's ass in Wimblemong.

[MojoJojo]

My PSU died a couple of weeks back - computer suddenly died, fouls smelling smoke coming out the back of the case.  I think I killed it by adding an extra hard drive, it was only 135W.  New beefy 350W PSU from the local computer shop got me up and running the next day with seemingly no other damage.  The new PSU's fans are quite a bit noisier though.

Bloody hell, even my P166MMX came with a 200W PSU, and that was years ago. It was an AT power supply, which I don't think you can even buy anymore.

[EDIT] sorry for the really dull post [/edit]

[Purple Tentacle]

Awwww, you guys are so sweet, replying like this! (Wipes a tear)

I'm at work now, and the IT guy is lending me a PSU to test at home tonight. Obviously if it fires up then I'll be happy.  If it doesn't, then I'll be a VERY sad panda.

So is it pointless connecting a 250W PSU? Will it damage my "parts" with its weedy wattage?

In answer to the questions above, no I haven't bought any new hardware for months and months (I decided to stop upgrading my computer and actually wait until it breaks.... this may be the day!), but it was assembled by a monkey, ie: me.

I know how to put computers together, but I've no idea if I'm doing it safely.  Although having said that I DID run my 1.4ghz at 1Ghz for a year because I didn't set the bus speed properly in setup.  It was lovely when I found out, it was like getting a free upgrade!

For all I know, it's wired up to be the computer that burned down an entire block of flats.

[5 Knuckle Shuffle]

So is it pointless connecting a 250W PSU? Will it damage my "parts" with its weedy wattage?

Read Not george's post.
[/quote]

[hencole]

I think this is Gods way of telling you to stop pissing about on LOL NO internet and go out in the sun and get some fresh air.

[The Man With Brass Eyes]

So I'm sitting at my computer, pootling away liquifying tits onto my body... when FOOM.Power gone.power cut I think... except it won't turn back on.

Probably a virus.

[untitled_london]

For all I know, it's wired up to be the computer that burned down an entire block of flats.

ime there the best computers to have :P

[Still Not George]

I've looked this up, and it appears to be a cross-overload fault caused by a virus infecting your Power Management services. The vulnerability's documented here:

http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/sampchap/6402.asp#132

I advise a complete hard-drive reformat.

[Cerys]

SNG, go and sit in a corner and repent your sins, you horrible little boy.

[Purple Tentacle]

I've looked this up, and it appears to be a cross-overload fault caused by a virus infecting your Power Management services. The vulnerability's documented here:
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/sampchap/6402.asp#132
I advise a complete hard-drive reformat.

Hahahaha, good one.


It WAS a joke, wasn't it?  Please?

New case and PSU are on their way, just got to sit tight until they arrive.

I was out with a load of geeks the other night, and two of them told me about the exact same thing that happened to them which took out their motherboards as well as their PSU due to a power surge.


So....

DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO NETWORK A WIN98 AND OSX SYSTEM?

(I have googled for about 2 hours and still can't get it to work.)

[fanny splendid]

Yes, I know.

But also, I have no idea.

Sometimes it works, and somtimes it doesn't

What are you trying to do, and by that I mean, are you just wanting to share an internet connection, or are you wanting to exchange files?

[Purple Tentacle]

What are you trying to do, and by that I mean, are you just wanting to share an internet connection, or are you wanting to exchange files?

Under the old regime I got OSX talking nicely to WIn XP, with file sharing and everything, although XP snootily refused to acknowledge the existence of OSX.  The internet cable went into my PC, and the Mac happily used the internet through the PC.

However my XP computer has departed, and I've got Ms_Tentacle's old Win98 machine.  I've got them on the same workgroup, connected via a crossover cable, I've set "windows file sharing" up on OSX (although to be honest OSX is probably ready to go as it talked happily to my deceased computer), but Win98 simply doesn't work and OSX can't see it.

There is actually very little help on there out on the internet, as it mostly says UPGRADE TO XP! / GET RID OF WINDOZE$!!!1111!!1111!!!

[fanny splendid]

I have real trouble geting file sharing to work, so i just set up an ftp server on the win98 machine, and connect to that via an ftp client program on the mac.

As far as shareing the internet goes, you need to access your tcp/ip (network>tcp/ip>properties) settings on the windows machine and enter the ip address of the mac as the gateway address. I can't remember if  the mac will assign the wondows machine an ip address. If it does, then great. If not, then give yourself an ip address, but make sure you are on the same subnet mask as the macintosh.

[Incredible Monkey Doctor]

As far as shareing the internet goes, you need to access your tcp/ip (network>tcp/ip>properties) settings on the windows machine and enter the ip address of the mac as the gateway address. I can't remember if  the mac will assign the wondows machine an ip address. If it does, then great. If not, then give yourself an ip address, but make sure you are on the same subnet mask as the macintosh.

Eye of newt, wing of bat, dust of rhino horn
Stir these things and make a disc
And sharing shall be reborn
Create a folder called only misc
And use it to store your porn!

[Timmay]

No need for potions or spells, just dump the Mac and get a PC.

[pfflam]

No need for potions or spells, just dump the Mac and get a PC.

I must respectfuly disagree . . . seeing as no virus would have been caught, and no crash would have ensued if Mac were the platform in use . . . .  and same with all the people who had similar problem.

No viruses for almost a decade on Macs.

[Purple Tentacle]

No need for potions or spells, just dump the Mac and get a PC.

I must respectfuly disagree . . . seeing as no virus would have been caught, and no crash would have ensued if Mac were the platform in use . . . .  and same with all the people who had similar problem.
No viruses for almost a decade on Macs.

Arrrrrggghhhh!!!!

As someone who uses both platforms at home on a regular basis I can confidently say that Windows evangelists and Mac evangelists are both as deluded as each other.  Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses.. that's how they're marketed! Macs for artists, PCs for gamers and programmers.  Macs are pretty and stable, PCs are flexible.

But all the cack that Mac-heads spout about Windows being virus infested and a miserable experience is so tedious... even Pinball, master of seclusion, agrees that as long as you update Windows and keep a firewall on then it's really not a problem.  It's so ruddy predictable when someone says "my computer has experienced a minor difficulty", and some numpty says "DUMP WinDO$E get LINUX / MACs they're the BEST!... if 85% of computer users used Macs the virus-ridden boot would be on the other foot I can tell you.

The choice of platform one uses is entirely down to what you want out of it.... if you want hassle free artist-y stuff that looks pretty, get a Mac. If you want to play games, programme and want greater control over your computer's specifications and capabilities, get a PC. It really is that simple.

Rant over.....


By the way I installed XP on Ms_Tentacle's Celeron(!) machine because Win98 is a sack of shit, and now her Mac and PC are chatting quite happily.

My new case has just arrived here at work, so I'll keep you all updated, I KNOW how interested you all are.  You're with me every inch of the bloody way....

[Timmay]

No need for potions or spells, just dump the Mac and get a PC.

I must respectfuly disagree . . . seeing as no virus would have been caught, and no crash would have ensued if Mac were the platform in use . . . .  and same with all the people who had similar problem.

No viruses for almost a decade on Macs.

Wrong. At least 26 according to http://www.macobserver.com/editorial/2003/08/29.1.shtml.

And besides, you actually think that was a virus, that caused a piece of hardware to fail?

[MojoJojo]

No need for potions or spells, just dump the Mac and get a PC.

I must respectfuly disagree . . . seeing as no virus would have been caught, and no crash would have ensued if Mac were the platform in use . . . .  and same with all the people who had similar problem.

No viruses for almost a decade on Macs.

Wrong. At least 26 according to http://www.macobserver.com/editorial/2003/08/29.1.shtml.

Uhh, if you read that link, you will see they list 26 virii total for the "classic" Mac, and none for OS X. Since the classic Mac is about 20 years old, that's not really evidence.

Sophos has list of Mac file virus's... most are very old, but a few seem to have come out around 1998.
I cannot be bothered to go through and count however... I have work to do.

[Timmay]

No need for potions or spells, just dump the Mac and get a PC.

I must respectfuly disagree . . . seeing as no virus would have been caught, and no crash would have ensued if Mac were the platform in use . . . .  and same with all the people who had similar problem.

No viruses for almost a decade on Macs.

Wrong. At least 26 according to http://www.macobserver.com/editorial/2003/08/29.1.shtml.

Uhh, if you read that link, you will see they list 26 virii total for the "classic" Mac, and none for OS X. Since the classic Mac is about 20 years old, that's not really evidence.

Sophos has list of Mac file virus's... most are very old, but a few seem to have come out around 1998.
I cannot be bothered to go through and count however... I have work to do.

"No viruses for almost a decade", was what pfflam said. Yeah, OS X may not currently have any viruses written for it, but is that due to it's security, or prevalence (or lack of) in the overall OS market? Both I would say.

[Purple Tentacle]

Don't forget that another reason why Macs run so smoothly and consistantly is that there are a very limited amount of Mac specs due to their un-upgradeness... whereas there are an almost infinite amount of permutations of PC setups.  A bit like the reason why console games run a lot more reliably than PC games.

But as far as virii are concerned, why write a virus with a potential audience of 10% of computer users when you can infect 90% of computer users?